A fertility clinic has announced it is to offer genetic screening of embryos for the first time in Ireland which will give parents the chance to know if their child has an inherited disease such as cystic fibrosis.
The move is likely to spark controversy among pro-life campaigners who fear it could eventually lead to embryos being screened for minor deficiencies or even sex selection.
However, many health professionals say the screening of embryos could play a vital role in preventing miscarriages and the inheritance of debilitating genetic conditions.
Beacon Medical Group in partnership with the UK-based service Care Fertility, is opening a new clinic in the in Dublin which will offer re-implantation genetic diagnosis or PGD.
This involves testing embryos for conditions such as Huntington’s disease, haemophilia and cystic fibrosis. It is a practice increasingly being used across Europe.
A number of other in Dublin and Cork are also planning to obtain permission from the Irish Medicines Board to begin offering the procedure later this year.
The Pro-Life Campaign has previously opposed such forms of testing on the basis they provide "quality control procedures to decide which new human lives should be allowed live and die".
Professor Simon Fishel, managing director of Care Fertility, said the new service was aimed at achieving the best chance of pregnancy for patients.
In a statement, he said: "As the UK's leading independent fertility provider we are focused on developing the best outcomes for our patients - something we have been doing for over 30 years.
"We treats many couples from Ireland and the numbers are increasing. We are delighted that through our partnership with Beacon Medical Group we will now be able to offer our world-class service in Dublin."
Several clinics in Ireland also hope to begin another form of genetic screening soon which involves analysing the chromosomes of embryos.
The procedure – known as pre-implantation genetic screening – would allow doctors to identify chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome.
In Britain, the procedure is licensed for use on older women who are at a much higher risk of developing chromosomal abnormalities, on women with a history of recurrent miscarriages and those with repeated IVF failure.
The use of these procedures is likely to put a sharper focus on how clinics are taking different approaches to the destruction of unwanted embryos used in IVF.
Fears about litigation and the precarious legal position of embryos have led to some clinics – such as the Sims clinic in Dublin – keeping all unwanted embryos in cold storage until there is greater clarity in the area.
However, some clinics are issuing consent forms for patients which provide for the destruction of embryos under a variety of circumstances.